The present invention relates to a composite structure, and in particular relates to a composite structure comprising matrix material with braided reinforcing fibers and a method of making the structure.
There are many known composite structures which comprise a fiber reinforced matrix material. A known composite structure comprises a laminated stack of layers of matrix material containing linearly oriented reinforcing fibers. The direction of orientation of the reinforcing fibers in one layer may be at a different angle relative to the direction of orientation of the reinforcing fibers in an adjacent layer. A disadvantage of a laminated stack of layers of a matrix material containing linearly oriented reinforcing fibers is that there is no fiber reinforcement in a direction perpendicular to the layers. A known way to strengthen the structure in the direction perpendicular to the layers is to stitch the layers together. A disadvantage in stitching the layers together is that the stitching process is labor and equipment intensive. Also, known fiber reinforced composite structures are made from knitted fibers and woven fibers which form a three-dimensional structure. However, the making of these composite structures is also labor and equipment intensive.